A Life Worthy

One-a-Day Friday, 6/13/14

Posted on June 13, 2014 by michaelJune 13, 2014

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge… (2 Peter 1:5b)

So you’re trusting God.

Excellent.

You’re practicing the goodness that comes out of a faith relationship with Him.

Wonderful.

Peter’s not through with you yet.

You see, there’s only so far you can go if you’re ignorant. Just ask my students. Think about it. How much can you trust God, really, if you don’t have knowledge of who he is and how he has chosen to work in our world? What we call “blind faith,” is really just, “lazy hope.” I am willing to climb on an airplane because, though I don’t fully understand the physics of how it works, I understand enough to know that an airplane does fly.

Usually

If someone offered me a ride on a flying chicken sandwich, I would have to say “no,” because I understand enough to be confident that a chicken sandwich big enough to hold me would never be capable of sustained flight.

That may be the worst analogy I have ever allowed to go to print. But you get the point, right?

If you are going to live for Christ, if you are going to do good on his behalf, then you must know him. Spend time today getting to know him better. God has given us 66 books on the subject of how much he loves us, and how he wants to work in us and through us. Study them. Study him.

There will be a test, Beloved.

It’s called Life.

One-a-Day Thursday, 6/12/14

Posted on June 12, 2014 by michaelJune 12, 2014

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness… (2 Peter 1:5a)

Faith is the starting point. If you don’t trust God, if you don’t act out of that trust, then nothing you do will have any lasting significance.

So, it starts with faith.

But it doesn’t end there.

If your faith is real, it will produce good deeds. They will flow naturally from your relationship with the Father. Don’t take my word for it—go talk to James. He says that, “Faith without deeds is useless.” (James 2:20)

I like James. He gets right to the point.

As will I.

What are you doing to add goodness to your faith? What actions stand as proof that your trust in the Father is more than just words?

Thursday awaits…

Be good, Beloved.

One-a-Day Wednesday, 6/11/14

Posted on June 11, 2014 by michaelJune 11, 2014

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness (2 Peter 1:3).

We have everything we need—We talked about that yesterday.

Through our knowledge of him—That takes us back to Monday.

Who called us—We didn’t call him. He called us. Which is a good thing, because, frankly, we probably never would have called him, and the consequences of that are terrifying.

Chew on it for a moment, Beloved. The Lord of the Universe has called you. Muddy, itchy, scabby, sloppy you. He knew just who he was calling, and he is in no way disappointed now that you’re his.

By his own glory and goodness—Notice that it does not say, “For his glory,” or, “Because of his goodness,” though either of those would make sense. It says, “By his glory and goodness.” These are the attributes that draw us to God. His glory—the holy, powerful, awesome, untouchable, unattainable perfection who is the Lion of Judah. His goodness—the gentle, kind, loving, cross-bearing, wretch-saving peacemaker who is the Lamb of God.

This is He who calls you. This is He who equips you. This is He who sends you forth in his name.

Wednesday is no match for you. Go get ‘em, Beloved.

One-a-Day Tuesday, 6/10/14

Posted on June 10, 2014 by michaelJune 10, 2014

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness … (2 Peter 1:3).

Everything we need.

Everything.

You know all those reasons you have for not living the kind of spiritual life God has called you to? Yeah, your weakness, your lack of insight, an absent spiritual gift or two or three or five—all those good excuses that allow you to live a plain, ordinary life?

Peter just blew those out the window.

Open window

Poof

Gone.

You have everything you need to live the life you have been called to live.

So…

Chew on that this morning, Beloved. It’s kind of a game changer.

One-a-Day Monday 6/9/14

Posted on June 9, 2014 by michaelJune 8, 2014

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord (2 Peter 1:2).

I know we have talked about this before, but I think it bears repeating. The phrase grace and peace appears in nearly every New Testament letter. Paul used it. John used it. Here we see Peter using the phrase. It is always used as a blessing to believers. It is always used at the beginning of the letter, kind of a launching pad. It is always used in the same order.

Grace

and

Peace.

Which reminds us that grace must come first. Without grace—the completely undeserved blessing we have received from God—how can we ever know peace? His grace sent his Son to the cross to purchase our peace with his blood.

Peter goes another step, pointing out that this grace and peace come through “The knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” God’s grace is not an anonymous gift left on our doorstep. Jesus stands and holds it out to you; you must come and take it. You must learn what it cost, and why.

To appreciate the gift, you must know the giver.

Spend time with him today, Beloved. Take hold of the grace and peace he offers you.

The gift cost him more than you can ever fully know.

And you are worth it.

One-a-Day Friday, 6/6/14

Posted on June 6, 2014 by michaelJune 5, 2014

…find out what pleases the Lord (Ephesians 5:10).

There’s a big difference between desire and love. Desire is about you—your wants, your needs, and how the object of your desire can fulfill them. Even the term, “Object of your desire,” connotes a thing, not a person.

Love is not about you; it is about the beloved. Your wants, your needs are subordinated to theirs. When you love someone, you want to know everything about them. So you spend hours with them, hanging on their every word. You study them, looking for the things they like to do, to eat, to wear. Kind of like stalking, only not so creepy. You pay attention; you get to know them. Then you show your love by doing things that you know they’ll appreciate. It can be hard work, but it feels like pure joy.

Beloved, when was the last time you dove into Scripture with the sole purpose of knowing God better, of finding out what makes him happy? Better question: When will be the next time?

One-a-Day Thursday, 6/5/14

Posted on June 5, 2014 by michaelJune 5, 2014

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light… (Ephesians 5:8)

Our culture is fascinated with darkness. Zombies, vampires, witches, demons—they fill our movie screens and paperback novels. And it’s not enough to have these forces of darkness in our pop culture entertainment; sometimes we make them the heroes.

As children of God, we are called to be different. We are light. Notice that the verse doesn’t say that we have light, but that we are light. Light has nothing to do with darkness. I’m not saying that it shouldn’t, but that it can’t. Go into a dark room and flick on the light switch. What happens to the darkness?

Gone.

Just as sin can’t exist in the presence of God, darkness can’t exist in the presence of light. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you can play the games that the world plays. If you dabble in darkness, you can’t live as light.

Does that mean that you can’t be living for Christ yet filling your head with images of evil, Christless yuck?

Pretty much.

Look, I don’t want to step on any toes. I’ll let God do it.

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14)

Where there is no light, there is darkness.

Where light is, darkness cannot be.

Go, Beloved of God, and live as a child of light today.

One-a-Day Wednesday, 6/4/14

Posted on June 4, 2014 by michaelJune 4, 2014

…live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:2).

This verse goes along with yesterday’s. One of the most powerful features of God’s character is his unending, unstoppable love. If we imitate him, as verse 1 tells us to do, we will live a life that mirrors that love.

And what an example we have to follow. Jesus loved us, and he told us in a way that goes far beyond words.

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

So how do we do that? I mean, laying down your life is all well and good if you’re rushing into a burning building to rescue people, or if you dive into traffic to save a toddler. But that opportunity doesn’t arise very often, and frankly, you can only do that trick once.

There is another way to lay down your life—but you probably don’t want to hear about it. This is the daily act of dying to yourself, of putting other people first. It’s the little things—taking out the trash even though it isn’t your turn, letting someone else have the last doughnut even though you’ve been salivating over it all morning, letting the other car in front of you even though it means you have to slow down and why should you have to slow down why can’t they just wait their turn like everybody else—

Yeah, it’s that kind of stuff. Not terribly dramatic; nothing to get you a mention in the paper, but loving nonetheless. That’s your challenge.

So, Beloved…what will your fragrant offering be today?

One-a-Day Tuesday, 6/3/14

Posted on June 3, 2014 by michaelJune 2, 2014

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children… (Ephesians 5:1).

Have you ever watched a son watch his father? The boy studies the man, soaking up the Dadness of it all. Words, clothing, even mannerisms—the child models after what he observes. Often, the child does not even realize what is going on. He is simply watching, and becoming what he sees. This can be dangerous, because not all of Dad’s ways are worthy of imitation. Thus the origin of the phrase, “Do as I say, not as I do.”

We have a Father who says, “Do as I say; do as I do; do as I am.” All his ways are perfectly worthy of imitation. Study him closely today. Look for him in his Word, in his world, and in his people. Then, do your best to be what you see.

Go ahead, Beloved—be a copycat.

One-a-Day Monday 6/2/14

Posted on June 2, 2014 by michaelJune 1, 2014

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Eph. 4:32).

There’s an interesting thing about forgiveness. It works for the forgiver as powerfully as for the forgivee.

Some of us—and by that I mean me—have trouble in the forgiveness department. Oh, we’re pretty good about forgiving those who apologize to us. We can be gracious and charitable—no problem. But as you know, most people who offend you don’t apologize.

Because they’re jerks.

And yet we’re called to forgive them anyway. The passage says, “Forgiving…just as in Christ God forgave you.” He didn’t wait for us to apologize before acting to forgive us. If he had, he would have been waiting forever, which he could do, because he’s eternal, but what’s the point of that when we never would have made the first step? Romans 5:8 says that, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” While we were still hurting him, he was offering forgiveness.

Does this kind of forgiveness heal the relationship? Not necessarily. The offender needs to acknowledge their sin and accept the gift of forgiveness in order for that to happen. Kind of exactly like it is with the sinner and God. But forgiveness does more than release the offender from guilt; it releases the offended from bitterness. Forgive, as an act of obedience to God, and you are free to move on, regardless of what the other person does.

If you need to forgive someone today, I humbly suggest that you follow God’s command and forgive. They hurt you once; don’t give them the power to hurt you over and over again.

There’s no one in your life you need to forgive?

Seriously?

Gird your loins, Beloved. It’s only a matter of time.